There’s a new exhibit in the Harold B. Lee Library featuring Captain Canuck, a prominent Canadian superhero.
Created by Richard Comely and Ron Leishman, Captain Canuck’s journey to comic book stores stands as a testament to the opportunity all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have to share the gospel through various mediums.
Comely was born in England and moved to Manitoba, Canada, at a young age. He developed a passion for drawing and knew early on that would be his life’s work.
Though christened an Anglican, he grew up in a non-practicing family. Comely fostered an interest in religion when members of different Protestant faiths would pick him up for church services each week.
As he heard different ministers speak about baptism, the nature of God and the purpose of life, Comely said he would "walk by churches and wonder, ‘Is that the right one?'"
Long walks home from art school each evening also gave the adolescent Comely time to "talk to the sky," as he put it. He would talk openly with a God he didn’t yet know personally, asking for some evidence as to whether or not there was more out there.
That evidence came several years later when Comely moved to Winnipeg for work. One spring day, two young men wearing tags from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on his door.
Comely learned about the Book of Mormon and the Plan of Salvation, a truth that resonated with him as if he’d known it all along. He was baptized just two months later in the summer of 1971.
As a new convert in Winnipeg, Comely met Ron Leishman at church. The two connected and, by happenstance, found they both had a passion for drawing and had attended the same art school.
Comely and Leishman regularly met to discuss project ideas. One of Leishman’s ideas kept resurfacing: a Canadian superhero.
“I just felt that there was a niche there,” he explained. Leishman had always enjoyed dreaming up comic book characters, and as he discussed it with Comely, the idea slowly began to take shape.
Leishman stepped away from the project to serve a mission in Brussels, Belgium, and he left the newly conceived Captain Canuck in Comely’s hands.
Leishman later said that he “wasn’t sure anything would happen with it, but (Comely) forged ahead.”
Comely, who had been working in the fashion industry, dedicated more time to Captain Canuck. The lionheart hero was like others at the time, promoting justice while fighting Nazis, aliens and more.
What set him apart, however, was Canuck’s clear reflection of church-centered values. Praying before battle and always relying on the strength of God, Comely’s testimony of Christ shone through like the sun through clear water.
Comely always had the desire to be a missionary. Baptizing his wife and helping many others on the road to conversion, he said he “saw Captain Canuck as a vehicle for that,” too.
"Captain Canuck" became popular across Canada, with bookstores everywhere buying inventory. Comely openly stated that the comics were authored by a member of the church.
Though some stores wouldn’t carry it because of religious content, many readers happily embraced the character and even took an interest in the Gospel message.
The comic also changed hearts in Comely’s inner circle. Claude St. Aubin, who was hired onto the small design team, learned about the Gospel through close association with Comely and was later baptized.
Though "Captain Canuck" was put on hold for a while, it is now making a resurgence. New literature, an animated web series and even fan materials like action figures are growing in popularity, letting this Christlike hero influence audiences across Canada and other countries.
The exhibit will remain on the third floor of the library through October 2025. It stands as a reminder to all on campus that the light of Christ can be shared in myriad ways and by all who desire to share it.
